These daring Met Gala 2024 beauty looks stole the show
As a beauty editor, the Met Gala has to be my favourite red carpet to cover for seriously iconic hair and makeup moments. The gala (also known as the Met Ball) is perhaps the most glitz fundraiser in the events calendar.
Taking place at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York each year on the first Monday in May, the evening gathers leading designers, celebrities and tastemakers to fundraise for the museum's Costume Institute (a collection of notable garments and accessories from across seven centuries) in order to preserve and exhibit the pieces. It's also a major opportunity to celebrate fashion, beauty and expression. Making a statement is actively encouraged – so conservative little black dresses and classic cat-eye liners are usually levelled-up for something a little more fun, fash-hun and fabulous.
This year's exhibit (which will open to the public from 10th May) is Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. It will celebrate 250 fragile pieces that normally lay “sleeping” in the archives. And since they're too precious to hang as normal, they'll be showcased lying down in glass cases. As for this year's dress code for attendees on the red carpet, the theme is “The Garden of Time”. We're excited to see how each guest translates it, but we're expecting some groundbreaking florals.
Zendaya served up everything at once – skinny brows, flower fairy vibes, poison ivy vinyl lips and robin hood hair accessories. Tyla played up the sands of time reference with a gown made of sand, wet look hair and grains scattered down her shoulders.
XXL sleeping beauty hair was everywhere with Madelyn Cline, Kendall Jenner, Keke Palmer, Ariana Grande and Lana del Rey all opting for butt-length strands.
One of the earliest guests to hit the red carpet, Gwendoline Christie, went for a whimsical statement with massively fluffed-out cloud hair, meanwhile Ashley Graham went meta with a fringe that resembled a garden rake (but we kind of dug it).
Below are our favourite Met Gala beauty looks of 2024…
Dia DipasupilZendaya
Zendaya gave us everything: skinny brows, vinyl lips and statement hair accessories. The theme blends 1920s Hollywood glam with poison ivy and peter pan.
Dia DipasupilGigi Hadid
Gigi gave us a vintage old-Hollywood rolled bob and red carpet red lips.
John ShearerTyla
Tyla honed in on the “time” element of the theme with a sands of time inspired look that saw her serve up a wet-look crop, ultra fresh skin and sand dusted down her shoulders in place of highlighter.
Dia DipasupilLana del Rey
Lana gave us thorny woodland goddess vibes with twigs and a veil decorating her hair and fawn-toned makeup.
Dia DipasupilJennifer Lopez
JLo paired her showstopper dress with a casual messy bun.
Dia DipasupilKeke Palmer
Keke's gravity-defying sky-high ponytail made our jaw drop, plus she decorated it with some hair gems that scattered down onto the side of her face.
Theo Wargo/GAKendall Jenner
Kendall served up sleeping beauty waves that trailed down to her hips.
Theo Wargo/GADua Lipa
Dua wore her cherry cola hair wet-look and side-swept, teamed with metallic purple eyeshadow.
Dia DipasupilSydney Sweeney
Sydney swapped out her famous blonde hair for a black bob, but kept her makeup pink and girly with silver glitter scattered down her deck and decolletage.
Dia DipasupilKaia Gerber
Kaia channeled the '90s supermodel vibe of her mum with a voluminous side-flipped blowdry, groomed brows and defined eyes.
Mike Coppola/MG24Rosalía
Rosalía wore her long dark hair loose down her back and defined her lips with red lipstick.
Dimitrios KambourisKim Kardashian
Kim wore her milk blonde strands loose and messy.
John ShearerTaylor Russell
Tyler served up the cutest baby braids and negative space brown graphic liner.
Theo Wargo/GAKylie Jenner
Kylie opted for pink rosebud cheeks with a flower attached to her tendril bun.
Jamie McCarthyLittle Simz
Little Simz gave us a phenomenal sculptural hair moment.
Dia DipasupilEmma Chamberlain
Emma Chamberlain also gave us pretty goth girl vibes with seriously smoked-out dark eyeshadow, deep nude '90s lips and a slicked-back wet-look bun.
Theo Wargo/GASerena Williams
Serena matched her gold hair accessory to her gold gown.
Theo Wargo/GABrie Larson
Brie wore her makeup soft and fresh, then tucked her slightly off-centre hair behind her ears.
Jamie McCarthyNaomi Campbell
Naomi matched the silver-blue metallic of her gown with her eyeshadow and wore her long hair super straight and side-parted.
Dia DipasupilElizabeth Debicki
Elizabeth dressed her lids with soft shimmer and added statement flowers to her sleeping beauty-length hair.
Theo Wargo/GADoja Cat
Doja matcher her see-through wet-look dress to smudged wet-look makeup, complete with mascara tears.
Gilbert FloresCharli XCX
Charli gave us goth girl lips and a spiky bun.
Dia DipasupilCamila Cabello
Camila dressed her eyes in glitz gold and wore her long blonde hair in a ponytail.
Dia DipasupilDa'Vine Joy Randolph
Da'Vine wore her copper hair waved alongside a super glossy lip.
John ShearerSabrina Carpenter
Sabrina wore silver eyeshadow and her curtain fringe parted to one side.
Jamie McCarthyShakira
Shakira chose long golden waves and lightly defined eyes.
Theo Wargo/GARachel Zegler
Rachel matched her blue metallic eyeshadow to her dress.
Jamie McCarthyEiza Gonzalez
Eiza gave us a fairytale braid, complete with petals.
Theo Wargo/GAVenus Williams
Venus gave us a sky-high bun with a braided detail at the base.
Dimitrios KambourisDove Cameron
Dove gave us sleeping beauty XXL waves, pink eyeshadow and rosebud red lips.
Dia DipasupilCynthia Erivo
Cynthia gave us whopper spider lashes and blooming blusher around her eyes.
Jamie McCarthyAriana Grande
Ariana paired her mother of pearl gown with pearlescent-looking butterfly wings attached either side of her eyes and an XXL swishy ponytail.
Theo Wargo/GAAmanda Seyfried
Amanda opted for a statement fuchsia lip, sprayed silver hair and a silver flower garland.
Gilbert FloresMaleah Joi Moon
Maleah added intricacy with wet-look hair and detailed edges.
Dimitrios KambourisMindy Kaling
Mindy opted for an old-school glamorous side-swept bob and smoky eyes.
John ShearerElle Fanning
Elle wore her bob crimped with fresh skin and sheeny lips.
Jamie McCarthyIrina Shayk
Irina chose a ballerina bun and striking matte burgundy lips.
John ShearerAshley Graham
We love Ashley Graham's graphic jagged fringe.
Aliah AndersonZoe Saldana
Zoe gave us fantasy sleeping beauty hair and kept her makeup delicate.
Jamie McCarthyTeyana Taylor
Teyana's icy blonde braid trailed all the way down her back.
Marleen MoiseKerry Washington
Kerry gave us tonal pink makeup and a cute glossy pixie crop.
Jamie McCarthyKylie Minogue
Kylie opted for a statement red lip.
Dia DipasupilPenelope Cruz
Penelope chose a parisian side-parted bob and a classic makeup look.
Dimitrios KambourisLizzo
Lizzo decorated her eyes with colour-pop dots that matched the petals in her headpiece.
John ShearerKarlie Kloss
Karlie wore her hair centre-parted and tied back, then defined her eyes and matched her flushed cheeks to her pink dress.
Dimitrios KambourisKris Jenner
Kris channeled her signature pixie crop and smoky eye makeup.
Jamie McCarthyAya Nakamur
Aya paired her silver gown with a platinum silver updo and brows.
Dia DipasupilEmily Ratajkowski
Emily gave us a sculptural updo and softly smoked-out eyes.
Dimitrios KambourisLily James
Lily kept things pared back with swept-back hair and delicate makeup.
Jamie McCarthyGreta Lee
Greta paired her delicate dress with a choppy, rebel mullet.
Dia DipasupilQueen Latifah
Queen Latifah had a statement braid woven into one side of her hair and kept her skin fresh and glowy.
Kristina BumphreyPhoebe Dynevor
Phoebe opted for a petal pink tonal makeup look that paired with her pink gown.
John ShearerPamela Anderson
Pamela seamlessly wove feathers into her famous blonde hair, so we couldn't see where her updo ended and the feathers began. She kept her makeup light and fresh.
Kevin Mazur/MG24Elsa Pataky
Elsa kept things monochrome with a gold outfit, gold blonde hair tied into an XXL bubble braid and topped with a gold floral head and gold eyeshadow.
Jamie McCarthyChioma Nnadi
Vogue UK's editor, Chioma, decorated her low bun with a pale blue rose hair decoration and upped the glam with glitz eyeshadow.
Marleen MoiseSam Barry
GLAMOUR US' editor-in-chief, Sam, decorated her half-up hair with pretty baby's breath blooms.
Aliah AndersonAnna Wintour
Anna Wintour served up her classic polished bob alongside defined eyes.
Gilbert FloresEva Chen
Eva wore iced-up lashes and side-flipped hair.
Marleen MoiseGwendoline Christie
Gwendoline gave us the most fluffed-out, whimsical cloud hair and blotted red lips.
Marleen MoiseLa La Anthony
La La gave us goth coquette with an all-black lacy outfit which she paired with a sky-high ponytail, wrapped with a black ribbon bow and dark monochrome makeup.
Mike Coppola/MG24Demi Lovato
Demi went for whopper lashes and side-swept hair.
Dia DipasupilJessica Serfaty
Jessica kept things fresh and natural with loosely waved hair, fresh skin and fluttery lashes.
Jamie McCarthyRebecca Ferguson
Rebecca side-slicked her wet-look hair and kept her makeup minimal.
Theo Wargo/GAMaria Sharapova
Maria decorated her slicked-back hair with flowers.
Dia DipasupilMichelle Williams
Michelle accessorised her pink pixie cut with a diamonte headband and defined her eyes with kohl liner.
Dia DipasupilSarah Paulson
Sarah wore her short hair side-parted and slicked back.
Mike Coppola/MG24Lea Michele
Lea wore her long hair loosely curled and opted for flushed cheeks and fluttery lashes.
